


Together we make a family

by elletromil



Category: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Movies)
Genre: Family, Ficlet, Fluff, Gen, M/M, Mention of Past Abuse, Mummy Newt, Papa Percival
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-08
Updated: 2016-12-10
Packaged: 2018-09-07 05:23:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,017
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8784769
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elletromil/pseuds/elletromil
Summary: Small collection of ficlets in which Credence has been adopted by Newt and Percival.





	1. Perfect the way you are

**Author's Note:**

> So I have fallen deep into Gramender hell and also them adopting Credence because that boy needs to be protected and loved. The fantastic karomel-02 on tumblr sent me a few asks about them and I couldn't resist writing those tiny ficlets for it. The work is marked as done, but it's possible I might write more :)

Newt froze when he heard the words and not for the first he wished that he had made it to New York earlier. He knew of course that it would probably have changed nothing, that he would have probably never even been aware of Credence if he had come any earlier, but it still didn’t stopped him from wishing it. It was easier to focus on those thoughts than on the ones he had about the woman who had hurt the boy so much.

Newt wasn’t usually a violent man and the last thing Credence needed was to be subjected to more violence, even if it wasn’t directed at him.

Very carefully, like he would have one of his injured creatures, one of his _children_ really, he approached Credence and very gently cupped his cheeks with both hands.

“It doesn’t matter what she said,” he told him, making sure to keep his expression loving and open even as he was mentioning her. It was easy to do so when he could just focus on Credence and how, even though he couldn’t quite meet his gaze, he was subtly leaning into the contact and the tension in his shoulders was slowly dissipating. “I’m your mummy now, right? So I want you to forget whatever she ever said, because it was wrong. You’re perfect Credence, just the way you are, no matter what you do.”

He pressed a kissed on his forehead and was caught completely unprepared for the hug Credence gave him as he was lowering his hands from his cheeks. Instead of letting them fall at his sides, he wrapped his arms around the boy in an loose embrace, one hand carding through the short hair, and started humming softly when he felt tears fall on his neck where Credence had hid his face.


	2. Smiling like you've never stop doing so

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written for a Nonny on tumblr who wanted to know "what is the first time credence calls Percival papa like?"

Percival didn’t think he would ever get used to the inside of Newt’s suitcase. He could come here everyday for the rest of his life and still get surprised by something or another, be it a beast, the ingenuity of a new habitat or the two humans in charge.

Not that he minded it, not at all. It was quite difficult to surprise an Auror, even more so one who had made it to be Director of Magical Security. Letting oneself get surprised when was was an Auror, especially in such an important position as Percival was, could lead to disastrous consequences. Maybe not always as dire as being captured and hid away by a Dark Lord and then impersonated by said Dark Lord, but it was a mistake they had to learn to avoid.

But here in the case, Percival could let himself be amazed and not fear that it would lead to another catastrophe. He could let his guard down, knowing that everything was under Newt’s control and the worst that would happen is the Niffler attempting to steal his watch, the one his father had given him when he had graduated from Ilvermony. Sure if the beasts were to leave the case, that was another story entirely, but it had not taken him long at all to realise that most of the creatures were more than content to stay here and be cared for and it was Newt’s dearest wish to do just that.

It had taken a bit longer to accept it was Credence’s too, but merely because he hadn’t want the boy to feel like he owed it to Newt for taking him in and didn’t take this work as penance for things that had been entirely out of his control. After all there was so many things Credence could be doing, but after a month or two of carefully watching from the sideline, he had had to admit that right now, this was probably the best for him.

He had started smiling again for one, that little turn of his lips every time one of the beasts showed him affection, and his eyes were becoming less and less haunted with each time Newt would come at his sides and ruffle his hair for a job well done.

There was also the fact that Credence didn’t try to hide away in the suitcase. He spent most of his day in there of course, but he would come out willingly and let himself be showed bits and pieces of his new world with a childlike awe that made Percival’s protective instincts come up to the surface even more.

However, it hadn’t took Newt to tell him to realise that Credence could become easily overwhelmed and that those bits and pieces were exactly the way to go. He would never entirely shake what happened in his childhood, what happened in the last months, but slowly he was taking steps to take his life back into his own hands.

Percival could have left him into Newt’s care with no worries and he might have done exactly that after the few mishaps with Credence. But that had felt too much like giving up and Percival had never been good at that, especially not with things so important.

So he had wisely listen to Queenie telling him that even if it didn’t seem like it now, he _was_ good for Credence and never one to let his pride stop him from doing something, he had asked Newt’s help in how he should tread around Credence.

It had been one of the best decision he had ever made and because he had stuck around, he now had the family he had always wanted but thought he would have to give up forever because of his career. It didn’t matter if his relationship with Newt never progressed past that point of awkward flirting between friends and if Credence never saw him as a father figure.

Having them in his life was more than he had wished for in a very long time and he couldn’t care less if they didn’t care as deeply for him as he did for them. As long as they let him be a witness to their happiness, he would be happy himself.

So when Credence greeted him without looking away from the hippogriff he was feeding (and since when did Newt had a hippogriff? Newt was supposed to at least let him know of any new addition to his menagerie, so that Percival wouldn’t be caught unaware when one undoubtedly escape from the case), he froze for a moment at the words.

“Good afternoon Papa.”

Now he knew Newt was Mummy to his creatures and that Credence had started calling him that too, but it was the first time he heard “Papa” being used.

However looking at how nervous and guilty Newt seemed to be, as if he had been caught doing something he shouldn’t have been, he could only deduced it wasn’t the first time that word had been used to reference him inside the suitcase.

He raised a hand to stop the flow of explanations that would come out of Newt’s mouth and let his lips curl in a smile. Newt smiled back tentatively and dared to walk up to him.

“I see Mummy has picked up a new baby,” he told Newt simply, referring to the hippogriff, and the smile on the younger man’s face turned sheepish.

“I was going to tell you, I swear, but you haven’t come around in days.”

The words were not the accusation they could have been, simply a statement that he had been missed and they added to the warmth of having been called Papa by Credence.

“Well I am here now, so I think you should introduce me, no?”

At this Credence finally turned to him, excitement making his eyes look brighter.

“Oh Papa, let me show you how! You’ll see it’s easy!”

He let himself be dragged to the new addition to their crazy family, listening attentively to Credence, his smile getting wider every time he would let the word Papa slip out until he couldn’t remember what not smiling felt like.


	3. Happy Birthday

Credence was surprised when Papa got into the suitcase to get him and maybe slightly worried. It wasn’t that Papa never came around to see the creatures, but he rarely did so without Mummy around. He had always thought it was a shame because they all adored him, but whenever he mentioned it, Papa would smile and say that this should really stay his and Mummy’s thing and that anyway, he didn’t really have the free time to spend down there.

It was a bit disappointing to Credence, because he would have loved to have more occasion to be around him, but he also understood that he was doing important work, protecting everyone. And he did made it a point to come home every night, even if it was just to change clothes and grab a fast dinner those times he was in the middle of a case he simply couldn’t drop.

He didn’t worry for long however, because Papa was smiling softly with something that Credence had come to understand was pride shining in his eyes and for once the lingering stress he seemed to carry around everywhere was nowhere to be seen. Sure he had seen him in a relaxed stated often enough, those nights he would just spend on the couch reading a book, more often than not with Mummy’s head on his lap, one hand playing distractedly with his hair, but he would be ready to jump on his feet ready at one of Aunt Tina’s summons in a heartbeat.

This evening however, he look like he had no care in the world and it was so strange to see him like this. But not a bad strange at all. He just wondered what the occasion was. Maybe he had finally decided it was time to ask Mummy to marry him? But then he should be with him and not waiting patiently for Credence to follow him up the ladder.

Once they made it out, Credence took a hold of his shoulder and asked him if he was ready, always careful not to take him off guard.

“Where are we going?” He didn’t fear anymore that they would force him to leave, he didn’t doubt that they cared for him deeply, but he hated having no control on where they would apparate. Knowing in advance their destination helped with that anxiety.

“Only to Uncle Jacob’s. We could have walked, but we’re running a bit late.” Not through any fault of Credence however, he hadn’t been the one buried under paperwork from a case. “Newt’s already there.”

He had had wondered where Mummy had gone earlier that afternoon, but he had been far too busy with the bowtruckles to ask him at the time. Still, he was curious as to why he was being brought to the bakery just now instead of just tagging along at the time.

The answer was pretty evident once they apparated in the middle of the shop, Mummy, his Aunts and Uncle in a semi-circle behind a table with the biggest cake he had ever seen and a pile of gifts worthy of a dragon hoard.

“Happy Birthday!!!” They all cheered, Papa’s hold on his shoulder tightening slightly for a moment before he released him and he was engulfed in hug after hug.

It was during his last hug that he finally processed what was happening, that those amazing people that had welcomed him with open arms had done even more today by wanting to celebrate his birthday, something he couldn’t remember if anyone had done before. Feeling the tears rolling on his cheeks, he clung to Mummy’s coat and hid his head in the crook of his neck. Nobody said anything, but Papa wrapped them both in his arms.

When he calmed down enough to blow out the candles on his cake, he could still feel the love of everyone in the room like a tangible weight over his shoulders. As they clapped and cheered again, only one thought looped in his mind.

_Let me keep this forever_


End file.
